Counting the cost of Indonesia's forest fires

Luca Tacconi, the director of the Asia Pacific Network for Environmental Governance, discusses the cost of the fires.

If we're talking about the impact of the fires, we're really looking at billions of dollars of damage.

Luca Tacconi, Asia Pacific Network for Environmental Governance

More than 100,000 fires have engulfed Indonesia this year, destroying forests and farmland and spewing hazardous smoke into the atmosphere.

Leading to a public health crisis, some 40 million people have been affected and around 140,000 have needed hospital treatment.

Pumping out more carbon dioxide in the last three weeks than Germany produces in an entire year, Indonesia has now surpassed the United States as the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

While the government struggles to contain the haze from the forest fires, it says the crisis will cost the economy more than $33bn this year.

Luca Tacconi, the director of the Asia Pacific Network for Environmental Governance, joins Counting the Cost to discuss the economic impact of the crisis.